


Retrieve & Receive

by galacticbucky



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, i want to give my boys what they deserve, im just really angsty for iw, kinda happy, kinda sad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-08 01:05:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14093637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galacticbucky/pseuds/galacticbucky
Summary: James Buchanan Barnes and Steven Grant Rogers. They've truly been best friends since childhood -- maybe even more than just friends -- and for what seems like forever. But when the war happens, the two of them get separated and Bucky is nowhere to be found and you know the rest of the story. But after years of searching and after years trying to find out what happened, Steve finally comes to a conclusion and goes out to find what went wrong and how he can fix it.(This won't be entirely accurate to TWS or CW, but similar events from these movies happen in this fic.)





	1. Steve

* * *

" _Steve Rogers, otherwise known as Captain America, has been missing for 67 days. He was last found at Coney Island with nobody else. Steve Rogers is 6'2", with blonde hair and blue eyes. He is very muscular and is often seen wearing a disguise. If he is seen, please call your local authorities or 911."_

* * *

 

Captain America is not missing. Captain America is sitting at home, researching about HYDRA, and trying to find out as much information as he can about his friend, Bucky Barnes. But so far, he has found nothing. He throws the files across the room in anger, and papers go flying. Steve is extremely stressed out, and he puts his face in his hands. He  _knows_ that there's going to be little information about Bucky after the train wreck, but he knows that there has to be something out there to look at. 

All of the files say that Bucky was "Missing in Action" and his corpse was never found, so his death records say that he went missing in 1944 and he was never classified as dead. Everyone thinks he's dead though; he has his own memorial in the Smithsonian Museum, he's on the Wall of Valor in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy of Science and Technology, and he's in so many history books. A part of Steve wants to cry and realize that his best friend won't go missing in history, but another part of Steve wants to be frustrated and tell everyone that Bucky is still out there, alive, and most likely captured and used as a science project for some Nazi organization. 

A phone rings and the Caller ID says Tony Stark. Steve rejects the call, and the phone rings again. He rejects it again and proceeds to throw his phone at the wall. The phone cracks and falls apart, and Tony calls the house phone. Steve gets up, and angrily takes the call.

"Is there something you need, Stark?" Steve asks.

"Oh my God, it's Steve Rogers. Be right back, I need to call the authorities. I can't believe it; I called the right number." Tony sarcastically says.

"Cut the shit. What do you want?" 

"So you've been 'missing' for sixty-seven days, this is the first time you've called me since you went 'missing,' and I need to know what you're doing because I have some more information about what you may be interested in looking at. Come to my office, wear a disguise, and don't shave because I know damn well you won't be recognized with a scruffy face. I know you, Rogers -- when you get like this, you don't take care of yourself."

"I showered. Be there in an hour." Steve hung up the phone and went to go find Tony and see whatever he has.

***

Steve eventually arrived at Stark Towers. He walked up to staff and checked in, but the only problem was that he didn't have a codename. He went "missing" on purpose, so he could get rid of his Captain America persona until he figures out what  _really_ happened to Bucky.

"Sir? Could I have a name please?" The secretary asked. She had straight brown hair, and she had bangs. Her makeup was very dramatic, and her blue eyes were very bright.

"I'm here for Mr. Stark," Steve said in a panicky term.

"I understand that, but what is your name, sir?" As she asked again, Tony came out of the elevator and snapped.

"Liz, he's here for me. He's under a lot of stress, so please give him a break," Tony shooed her away and put a hand on Steve's shoulder. "It's nice to see you again. Let's talk."

They go up the elevator, and they reach the highest floor. Out the windows, you can see all of Manhattan, and it looks nice. However, Steve doesn't get distracted by the view and feels a sense of urgency coming from Tony. Tony hands Steve a file, and it's extremely thin, and thin files are not the best.

"What's this?" Steve asks. He sees the unnamed file, and as he opens it, he sees a picture of Bucky in the army. Steve slams the file shut.

"We found more information about where he might be. Apparently, HYDRA is back at it again." Tony explains. "I wanted to talk to you first."

"I don't know what to say. How long have you had this?"

"About a month."

"A  _month_ , you've had this, and you're just telling me? I know more about Bucky than you guys could ever find out on files. What have you tried to find?"

"We tried to find out any leads. We have three." 

"And they are?"

"Unknown." Tony walks away and Steve has filled with anger once again. Everyone is trying to find out information about Bucky, and they think they've found something, but know nothing.

Steve is the only person that knows about Bucky's ways of hiding, and even he gets stumped trying to solve these puzzles. It's a thing they both got from the Howling Commandos -- learning how to cover your tracks -- and both of them used to go and play games. It was like hide and seek, but a lot more intense. Unfortunately, Bucky has been using this game strategy in real life, and that's why no one has any clue what has happened to him since 1944. 

He angrily left Tony's office and went home via the bus. He sat in the very back seat and opened the file quietly. He flipped through all seven pages, and he found stuff he already knew. However, one thing caught his eye and chills went down his spine. 

Tony marked down that Bucky may have been spotted recently near Steve's Brooklyn apartment. And not once did Steve ever notice this, as he hasn't looked out his window in quite a while.


	2. Steve

“You knew about Bucky being near my apartment and you’re just now telling me about this, along with everything else about the case. Why would you do such a thing?” Steve yelled into the phone. After he read the files, he immediately called Tony and was ready to chew him out.

“I had to keep it from you for as long as I could because you would end up like this. Bucky is wanted for many crimes. They think he’s an assassin.”

“An assassin? Who’s ‘they?’ And why are they out to get Bucky and why is he now important after all these years?” Steve continued to question. All of this didn’t make sense and he needed to know what was going on.

“They, as in HYDRA. He used to be a winter soldier, and he was The Winter Soldier. He was brainwashed and trained to be an assassin. You should know this,” Tony explained. “He’s been like this for years. Apparently, he recently escaped.”

Steve hung up on Tony and got off the bus at his stop. He was home in about an hour, and his apartment felt different. Not only because Bucky has been around recently, but something was off. Steve keeps his apartment cleaned in a certain way, and something wasn’t necessarily cleaned, but wasn’t in a right order. 

He looked around. His dishwasher was still running, his laundry machines finished when he was out, and his living room was still tidied up like he left it. He went down the hall to his bedroom and his bed was still made, clothes folded on his dresser, and books on shelves.

Ever since Steve has gone into the Howling Commandos and went to serve with S.H.I.E.L.D. and formed The Avengers, he has always been a little too observatory. He’s always noticing the way he puts things in order, noticing how this person walks or how this person talks, and the little things. It’s not anything creepy, but it can prove useful in small situations or large situations. 

He found the culprit, however. Two of his shirts were not in the right order of what he folded them, and when he went to fix it, he found a letter in between the shirts. The letter had a strange handwriting and it looked unfamiliar, but strangely like Bucky’s handwriting. It had no signature, and it was on a piece of paper quickly ripped out of a notebook. 

The letter read, “Get back to fighting,” in a messy ink writing. This message made Steve’s stomach drop and he didn’t know what to do. Fighting, as in joining The Avengers again? Or something else, as in fighting to figure out what happened to Bucky? 

He didn’t think of calling Tony again, since he’s the one that started this mess. Steve thought of doing a DNA test on the piece of paper, but there’s something that says that it is Bucky who wrote the note, so that DNA test would be useless. But it’s also funny how they were both talking about Bucky being around recently, and he’s managed to get into Steve’s apartment.

“Dammit,” Steve muttered under his breath. He grabbed the note, went to sit down at the kitchen table with the files, and examine everything. This could be evidence for something, somehow. The file had no other notes or information about Bucky’s handwriting, so he had to eliminate a possible comparison. There was only one piece of paper that talked about where Bucky might be and how you can tell if he’s been around, and it didn’t add up to what the note said.

Steve didn’t feel very good about this. His stomach started hurting horribly, and he was about to have a nervous breakdown. Along with this, and the possibility of his best friend being alive after all these years, Steve doesn’t know where to start. He only has this stupid note and Tony, who hasn’t been much help and really just pissed Steve off. 

***

Steve woke up the next morning to twelve missed calls from Tony. He ignored the notifications, and got up to go take a shower and not shave, because having a beard hides his Captain America identity. He planned his day to stay inside and do nothing social, just like he has been for the past couple months. 

Skipping breakfast was becoming a daily routine, and it’s horrible, but Steve hasn’t been much of a breakfast eater. Bucky used to get onto him about it, because he was skinny and needed nutrients, but he always insisted not to because he was often too tired or too sick to eat. It then stuck with him for the rest of his years. 

He sat down at the kitchen table and looked at his files once again. One of the files talked about who the Winter Soldier is, why he’s important, and what he’s done. This assassin can speak four languages, most fluent in Russian and English, and he knows about Captain America. He has spoken about how he knows Cap, but doesn’t remember much about who he really is. Steve read this, and a shiver went down his spine.

Another file read about how the Winter Soldier has undergone multiple treatments to remove memories about certain missions. Everytime the soldier goes under a treatment, he always brings up about how he knows Steve. This made his stomach drop, and he couldn’t take it anymore. A heavy tear went down Steve’s left cheek, and he shut the file - gently, this time. 

Wherever Bucky went, and whatever mission he had to do, after it was finished he always thought of Steve. That’s what Steve interpreted, and he sat in silence. Was this what it has come to? After all these years, he still remembered Steve, but was never able to see him in person again? It hurt, but it was the truth. This then forced him to go find Bucky, once more.


End file.
